Join Open University of the Left on Saturday July 14, at 2:30 pm at the Lincoln Park branch of the Chicago Public Library at 1150 W. Fullerton Ave. (at Sheffield) Chicago, free parking, wheelchair accessible (Bus route: 74 Fullerton, RedLine: Fullerton)

Dr. Lee Artz presents: Bolivarian Venezuela in Defiance of the US Empire

Nicolas Maduro was reelected President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on May 20, 2018. Maduro received a landslide 67.7% of the total vote cast. His nearest challenger received about 21%. This result occurred despite a unrelenting disinformation and sanctions campaign in the country. This campaign was conducted by the United States-OAS- and internal Venezuelan opposition. The deceit of the US government here has not been lost on observers who have noted that the United States government has been attacking Russia at the very same time for allegedly interfering in the 2016 US elections while the United States has been working overtime to delegitimize and disrupt the just completed Venezuelan elections.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has served as an inspiration for much of the struggling people’s of the world. Since 2015, the US has unleashed illegal sanctions on Venezuela as a form of economic warfare. These sanctions are illegal under international law because they impose a collective punishment upon the Venezuelan people for the actions of their government.

Now we learn that the President of the United States has raised the question of the invasion of Venezuela. Polling has indicated that the vast majority of Venezuelans are against sanctions and any outside military intervention. The poor and formally dispossessed also have nothing too lose by resisting any attempted right wing takeover of Venezuela. The international community must also reject any outside interference in Venezuela.

Dr. Lee Artz is the Director of the Center for Global Studies at Purdue Northwest. He teaches media and culture in the graduate program at PNW. Lee is a former steelworker and machinist. He has participated in Latin American solidarity activities for decades.

P.S. Bring a bag to pick up some free books from the personal library of the late Dr. William Pelz.

All Open University of the Left event are free of charge and open to all.